On Sunday, October 28th, 2012 as New York officials were making final preparations for hurricane Sandy, twenty young chess players and their families in Brooklyn were preparing for a storm of their own. For the first time, they’d have a chance to play against four-time US Women’s Chess Champion Irina Krush in the Trosman Memorial Chess Simultaneous Exhibition. Though none of the participants managed to score, some held out for long battles. Irina made sure that each player took home more than just the participation trophies, giving some words of advice and posing for photos.

The event took place at the Marks JCH in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, where Mikhail Trosman taught for nearly 10 years. Irina was one of Mikhail’s first students in Brooklyn, where each of them settled after emigrating from their respective cities in Ukraine. While Irina had several coaches afterwards, she credits much of her success to her old coach Mikhail. And many of Mikhail’s former students in France, Israel, Ukraine and the US share that sentiment. His passion and dedication to his work were an inspiration to many; to illustrate, he conducted his last chess lesson in severely deteriorating health only weeks before his passing in December 2011.